Exactly one year ago,
this column highlighted the trend of developer condo buyouts
propelled in part by condo safety legislation. The uptick in
developers bulk purchasing condos from burdened owners in
outdated buildings produced more of a ripple than a wave at
the time.
But twelve months later, the swell is rising into something
substantial.
Some of the region’s most prominent developers are acquiring
older condominium buildings across South Florida at an
accelerating pace — and cost — clearing the way for a new
generation of luxury towers.
Fueled by post-pandemic economics, stricter reserve
requirements, aging waterfront inventory, and an increasing
scarcity of redevelopment sites, condo terminations are a
powerful force reshaping the region’s coastal housing
landscape.
Take a closer look at the growing condo buyout bonanza in
this edition of South Florida by the Numbers.
$430 million
Proposed offer from Immocorp Capital and Hong Kong-based O.D.
Kobo to purchase West Palm Beach’s 140-unit Portofino South
Condominium and 39-unit Flagler Yacht Club. If accepted, the
buyout would break down to $2.4 million per unit, making it
one of the most expensive buyout offers in West Palm Beach.
Two
Number of acres, buildings and industry titans involved in
the $100 million buyout of the 61-unit Harbor Towers in West
Palm Beach. Nadim Ashi’s Fort Partners is ultimately closing
the buyout, but his initial move was temporarily blocked
last year by competing developer Steve Ross. The property
sits across the Intracoastal from President Donald Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago Club.
$985,700
Average price paid to seven holdouts at Coconut Grove’s
Bayshore Park condominium, which was almost $324,000 more
than 32 of their neighbors who agreed to a $661,800 average
price last summer. BH Group and Mast Capital completed the
buyout in March for $28 million, but that sharp price
increase demonstrates the competitiveness of the bulk condo
buying.
1951
Year the Miami Beach Club was constructed, making the
108-unit, two-story Sunny Isles Beach property a prime
candidate for buyout by The Related Group, Dezer Development
and BH Group in 2025.The developers and a fourth partner
filed plans in January to build a 145-unit oceanfront condo
tower rising 62 stories on the 2-acre site.
80
Percentage of unit owners at the 134-unit St. Louis on
Brickell Key that agreed to negotiate a buyout (the minimum
required by the association’s declaration), making a
potential termination much easier than buildings with higher
thresholds. Local developers Terra Group and The Related
Group are working together on the buyout, which would likely
be close to $1.5 million per unit, marking the first
redevelopment of a condo on Brickell Key since the island
was developed